Profiling Precast

2 Feb 2015

For decades, precast concrete has seen widespread usage in flooring applications. Precast concrete has long been considered a product well suited to flooring construction, namely for its facility to support high loads. It should therefore come as little surprise that the Precast Flooring Federation (PFF) currently estimates that 82% of all residential ground floors in the UK feature precast concrete as a component of the floor.

However, despite this overwhelming dominance in ground floor construction, precast has seen significantly less market penetration when it comes to intermediate/upper floors. In fact, the PFF says only approximately 12% of residential upper floors in the UK comprise precast concrete.

“There seems to be a perception in the industry to always use [precast] on high quality, upper end projects and to always use it on flats, but to use timber everywhere else,” according to George Pickard, director at Litecast Homefloors and chair of the sales and marketing committee of the PFF. “However, there’s no need for that, it’s a misconception in my opinion.”

The Precast Flooring Federation has recently launched a campaign aimed at educating specifiers about the benefits of installing precast concrete systems in the upper floors of residential buildings. Currently, the majority of upper floors installed in the UK are supported by timber joists, however the PFF is now seeking to influence the commonly held view that timber is the best option.

Concrete advantages
Precast concrete offers a number of benefits which other systems are unable to provide, according to Pickard. “In domestic upper floors in houses specifically, we would advise using a concrete joist similar to that on the ground floor with a dense concrete block between it. This gives the advantage of sound resistance, and it also has fire resistant qualities, which are a huge benefit.”

“There seems to be a perception in the industry to always use [precast] on high quality, upper end projects and to always use it on flats, but to use timber everywhere else”

The need to respond to the changing lifestyles of occupiers means that ensuring effective sound resistance in residential properties is now more vital than ever, says Pickard. “The principal complaint that is lodged of lightweight timber upper floors is that floors always creak – you can hear people walking around. This is really significant because in the last 50 years lifestyles have changed in houses. Back then residents all sat around the television – there weren’t noise contamination issues. These days you have various little activities going on at different levels of the house.”

The fire resistant qualities of precast are also a boon, according to Pickard. Precast floors can offer fire resistance ranging from a full half hour to two hours, depending on the floor type.

A further advantage of precast floors is their high thermal mass. “One of the great things is that if you have a house that is of some density, made up of concrete blocks in walls, precast concrete floors etc, there’s a huge thermal mass, which actually reduces your heating bill in the long term,” Pickard says.

Heated support
Precast flooring can also provide an ideal base for underfloor heating (UFH). With new build residential properties now being constructed to smaller dimensions, UFH has a significant role to play in freeing up additional space which would otherwise be allocated for radiators.

“Opening that space up is significant as studies have actually apportioned that savings gained from installing underfloor heating equate to 13-14% of the floor area,” comments Pickard. “Although I would like to think that’s an added benefit, rather than an excuse to make houses smaller.”

The ultimate aim of the Precast Flooring Federation’s campaign is for concrete systems to comprise 75% of the upper floor residential market by 2025, arguably a very ambitious target. Pickard is confident that the PFF will realise its goal, however. “We’re making good progress and the product sells itself to a certain extent. I’m optimistic that we will achieve our target,” he concludes.